The Long Man

Magnificent. sir Billy is back where he belongs and does his best work. I do believe he will save us. What a shot in the arm for all of us and the players. The contrast to the indolent team before is stunning. As Foran said last week, this is like the old Inverness. Hurrah, the bugle has sounded.

Rather than being stabbed in the back, Richie seems to be doing his best to stab himself in the front. Our resident psychologist might have a view on whether he is consciously or subconsciously looking for a way out via the sack. His head sounds like a mess, these post match interviews are absolutely toe-curling to listen to, and have been since his spaced out performance after the county game. So I can only guess at the torture he is going through, and whether he would be glad to be released from it. But trying to shuffle the blame on to the players is the last resort when you are the manager, and you can surmise how they will react to that when they hear it. He is making the board's decision for them. It is very hard to see how he can stay like this, especially if the players have given up on him. Whatever your view of Butcher and Hughes style and tactics, you at least knew what they were, the players certainly did, and they stamped their authority on the team. It is very difficult to see how Richie can do anything like that, just when we need someone to organise the scattergun signings into a unit and motivate the squad.

Not enough.

Doumbaya off, Vigurs on. Would suggest Richie is seeing too much pressure from PT and cannot afford two strikers.

Live on BBC Scotland Medium Wave; http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/bbc_radio_scotland_mw Patrick Thistle well on top according to commentary. Sigh.

Please drop the Doum and freshen up that forward line. We have better players on the bench.

I think we have to stop pretending that we have anything other than a powder puff attack. I am sorry to say that Lonsana has very little to offer other than his height - and winning headers seldom leads to anything useful. He has had long enough now, and I can't see any progress- when he had two clear chances on Wed night he couldn't even test the goalkeeper. When Fisher came on, he was immediately more effective, challenging and winning balls, scrapping and harrying. We looked far better with him. And the other change was just as good - Doran suddenly gave more options, through crosses and shots. Cole looks like a promising kid, and should not be preferred over a proven and experienced player. He's a bench player. Those two should start tomorrow, with Polworth maybe behind Fisher. On top of that we have to cut out the cheap goals we give away. We are in a relegation battle , no use to pretend otherwise. Those three matches after the break are huge. We may have a couple of players in by then, but we have to shake up the current system, which is not working, Richie.

Very interesting. I hope Richie is doing some studying

Interesting points. My version of pressing is not leave any space, but to deny them the space by not giving them time to find their passes. However, good insight from ictfc that they had planned to do that but were outplayed - you do have to acknowledge that Rangers were fast and accurate in their movement. My concern was that we let them run at us without disruption, although our backline were heroic in keeping them out (as well as some rotten finishing from them). I am sure it is a good learning experience for Foran and the players, and we can take some comfort from the fact that we nearly got a point. But we do have to sort out our best attacking option.

That's a complete mischaracterising of what is being said. No one is talking about headless chickens. It is called the pressing game, as practised by more than few leading clubs. It does not mean playing out of position or leaving gaps. Fisher did a good job, and made a significant difference by doing exactly that.

No contest. Doom is way out of his depth.

yes, unfortunately Doumbaya was feeble, and doesn't look good enough for this level. I was also very dissatisfied with his work rate. When Fisher came on, the difference was immediate. He started harrying the keeper and the back four, pressing them into making mistakes from which we could win the ball higher up the field. Indeed a couple of our attacks started this way. Prior to that, they had a leisurely time passing the ball out without challenge. We stood off them too much after they scored, although they have got pace and were far more accurate in passing than us. When Dorran and Mulraney came on, the game was transformed as we started running at them and giving them problems. We need to sort out that midfield and give it some shape. It's very hard to discern where Vigurs, Polworth and King were supposed to be, and what their role was.

It's a crying shame that just at the time a young, developing player needs to be involved and playing regularly, he cannot get a regular first team game. Of course you can understand the lure of the 'big time', and maybe he will get a chance this year, but I always though he left us prematurely and would have benefitted enormously from another season of first team football here. And then he could have picked from a more appropriate range of suitors. I thought Hughes was over eager to get Ryan out of the door, with him virtually holding up a 'for sale' sign in interviews, and the way Celtic waited until the last day of the transfer window was particularly cynical. He was still developing his game, and you worry that that will be stunted in the Celtic reserves. Same with Mackay Steven who I thought showed great promise. Although maybe there is a case for signing the best of young talent, it seems counter-productive, and a great disservice to the players themselves, that they get stuck in limbo - some of them will eventually get discarded, and will have wasted precious time. It weakens the Scottish game and the players themselves. Who knows what the answer is, but there must be a better development plan for our brightest and best. Limited squad numbers?

Magnificent backs-to-the-wall performance in the second half, when it looked like only a matter of time before we were breached. And to top it off with a late equaliser was all the sweeter because of the dodgy decision in the first half. An extremely well earned point, some justice done. Two points from two of the toughest fixtures bodes well. If we can just sharpen up a bit at the front and decide our best combination we will be fine. They can't beat Barcelona and they can't beat ICT

What a farce of a decision. We could be 2-1 up playing against 10 men. But no, the ref decides against every other opinion there.

I would have just positive likes only. Dougal's unintentionally hilarious intervention just shows why negative dislikes are stupid and self-defeating. I often use a green dot as a quick way of saying 'I agree, well said'. I have never used a red dot. Why stir things up?

MacKay-Steven might be let go, possibly on loan, from Celtic. As a North of Scotland lad who originally wanted to join us, but Butcher turned him down, we should try our best to grab him.

Well done, I hope you stick with it. I do agree about the colours though.

And how many times have we scored 12 or more goals in a week? A wild guess would say never.

Kingsmills, I do think he probably fancied it, and I also think he has a very high opinion of his own ability. That is one of the reasons why I think he fell out with the board. Not saying he didn't achieve something here, but it may have gone to his head a bit.

Looks like Lennon. I think Yogi might be a bit miffed.

After the mistake Hibs made with Terry B, can you really see them falling for the same routine again from an ex ICT manager with a delusional sense of his own brilliance? Lol

Damn!

Well, according to the radio we should be 2 or 3 up! Oh don't fall for the sucker punch. Let's show them how to play football.

That's it. Highland derby for one semi final, Glasgow derby for the other. Final, repeat of last year's semi final. lol